£10,000 of Capital Grant Scheme funding available to Kent farmers and landowners

Farmers and landowners in West Kent and surrounding areas are invited to a meeting to learn how to apply for £10,000 of Capital Grant Scheme funding from South East Water.

The company has been working closely with farmers and landowners in priority catchment since 2015 to help minimise the risk of soil, fertiliser and pesticides washing from fields into rivers and groundwater.

Al Stewart, South East Water’s surface water lead, said:

“As part of this work, we offer grants of up to £10,000 for on-farm improvements, such as pesticide handling areas, and other initiatives that help improve river and groundwater quality.

“In addition to funding, we offer free one to one confidential on farm advice to farmers in our catchments. We understand agriculture and horticulture is going through a period of significant change and appreciate this uncertainty is unsettling for many.

“However, we’re here to support farmers on this journey – we want to work together to create a more sustainable future for farmers and the raw water we rely on to produce 520 million litres of top-quality drinking water each day.”

Those interested in applying for funding, or finding out more about available support, can sign up now for the breakfast meeting taking place on Wednesday March 30 at Marden Cricket & Hockey Club.

Event details:

• Date: Wednesday March 30, 2022
• Time: 9.30am (breakfast and refreshments included)
• Location: Marden Cricket & Hockey Club, 319 Maidstone Road, Marden, Kent, TN12 9AG
• How to register: To register for the event, please visit Eventbrite(opens in a new tab)
• CPD points: BASIS and NRoSO points available

You can access South East Water’s catchment map here to check which catchment you are in.

While this event is for farmers in the Teise, Pembury or Hartlake catchments, there is support available to farmers across Kent and Sussex and all are welcome to attend. Visit our catchment management page to find out more.

You can also email catchment@southeastwater.co.uk(opens in a new tab) with any questions.